Simon’s Guide to Casinos and Gambling in Russia

Gambling in Russia has been a huge problem for the government since the beginning of the 21th century. All gambling was outlawed in the country during the soviet era, between 1928 and 1987. The first legal Russian casino was introduced in 1989. In the years following the collapse of the soviet union, gambling facilities started to pop up all through the country. By 1994, there were approximately 496 registered gambling companies in Russia. However, most of the venues operating in the country by this time were notoriously avoiding taxes. In response to this situation, a law was crafted in 1998 to clear up matters of taxation and licensing. As a result of these measures, tax revenues from the gambling industry increased. But more importantly, the new licensing system brought about a dramatic upturn in the number of casinos and gambling facilities in the country.

In 2002, the Federal Sports Agency (FSA) was granted the right to issue gambling licenses, while regional governments were stripped of this function. The FSA introduced an even more liberal licensing policy. It gave away licenses for the Russian Ruble equivalent of approximately $100. Between 2002 and 2005 the number of casinos doubled in Moscow alone, and an astonishing 60,000 slot machines were operating in the city (that means, roughly 1 slot machine/170 residents).

No wonder that this wildfire growth resulted in a major political and media backlash. In 2006, the government introduced a radical countermeasure. Federal law N 244-FZ was passed on December 29, 2006, prohibiting gambling venues with slot machines and table games everywhere in Russia except for four special gambling zones*. The law came into effect fully in 2009. Authorities basically closed down all casino gambling operations outside the four gambling zones overnight. This leads us to the current situation, where casino gambling in Russia is only allowed in these four regions, namely:

“Yantarnaya” (Kaliningrad region)

“Azov-city” (Krasnodar territory)

“Siberian Coin” (Altay)

“Primorie” (Primorie region)**

Gambling zones in Russia, according to the 2006 legislation.

The prohibition also extends to online gambling in Russia. In 2006, all online gambling was outlawed in the country along with brick and mortar gambling facilities outside the aforementioned zones. In 2015 February, Russia’s media authority Roskomnadzor announced that it would block domains of blacklisted online gambling websites. The list includes Russian and international operators as well. The agency actually started to block such domains in late September, and by the end of October dozens of gambling sites were made unavailable, including global operators, such as 888 Poker, Betway, Bwin.party, JackpotCity, Ladbrokes, Marathon Bet, Pinnacle Sports, Titan Poker and Unibet, and Russians, like Favbet, Fonbet, Liga Stavok, TrioBet, Vulkan-Bet and 1xbet***.

Industry experts contemplate, that these measures are taken in preparation for the establishment of legal online gambling in Russia (which is most likely true, considering that in 2016 the first ever Russian online sports betting license was issued to a private business). A draft law is being considered recently by Russian legislators, which aims to prohibit financial service providers from processing transactions related to unlicensed online gambling (much like the UIGEA in the US).

Russian laws also impose a small fine on players that participate in gambling activities conducted by unlicensed operators, both online and offline. However, currently there is little to no risk involved in playing on foreign online platforms from Russian, as authorities aim their efforts at gambling providers and organizers, not players.

Casino gambling in Russia

Online casino gambling – Russia: illegal, players are not prosecuted

Brick and mortar casinos in Russia are only legal in the four aforementioned, special gambling zones. However, as one might expect, after the legislation was enacted in 2009, underground casinos started to proliferate in the country. In 2013, a reported 662 of such venues were shut down by the authorities.

All the four locations with legal casino gambling in Russia attract high profile, international investors, such as casino tycoon Lawrence Ho. Plans for major casino resort complexes are already approved for most these locations.

There are no legally operating online casinos in Russia. Many of the major foreign operators’ domains are on the media authority, Roskomnadzor’s blacklist and are banned by ISPs all through the country. The legislation makes it somewhat difficult for players to access these sites and theoretically, gaming online is punishable by a minor fine. However, the chances of an individual player being caught are minuscule – authorities aim their efforts at operators.

A surprising number of online casinos accept players from Russia, despite the fact that online gambling is actually illegal. The following offshore online casinos still accept players from Russia:

BGO casino – accepting players from Russia

32 Red casino – accepting players from Russia

Betsson online casino – accepting players from Russia

Betsafe online casino – accepting players from Russia

Casino Euro – accepting players from Russia

Black lotus casino – accepting players from Russia

Lotus Asia casino – accepting players from Russia

GT Bets accepts players from Russia – accepting Bitcoins as well

Bingo in Russia

Online bingo – Russia: legal, licensed

Certain bingo games are reportedly exempt from the 2006 ban, and some country-wide lottery type bingo games continue to operate to date. Amongst the most popular of such games are the bingo games offered by Bingo Boom, a major Russian lottery company and Trade House Stoloto, the state lottery operator. These bingo games are accessible online also.

However, foreign online bingo operators cannot offer their services to Russians legally, as of now. Moreover, many such sites are blocked by ISPs in the country. Russian laws impose a small fine on players who gamble on such sites. However, chances of an individual player being caught gambling are almost non-existent – authorities are concerned mainly with operators.

Despite the ban the following online bingo websites still accept players from Russia:

BGO bingo – accepting players from Russia

Betsson Bingo – accepting registrations from Russia

32 Red Bingo – accepting registrations from Russia

Poker – Russia

Online poker – Russia: illegal, players are not prosecuted

Land based poker in Russia is illegal outside of the four gambling zones. However, several advocates and experts are pushing for the government to exempt poker from the ban. They argue, that poker is game of skill, not a game of chance, and therefore it should not be treated like other casino games.

Online poker too, is currently outlawed in Russia. Most major poker operators are blocked by Russian ISPs. Players, if caught, face a small fine. However, the law is reportedly not enforced on the level of individual players. Authorities are after gambling operators.

The following online poker websites still accept players from Russia:

Betsson online Poker – accepting players from Russia

Betsafe online Poker – accepting players from Russia

32 Red online Poker – accepting players from Russia

Sports betting in Russia

Online sports betting – Russia: legal, licensed

Sports betting companies are eligible for a licence in Russia. Under a federal licence, they can provide land based sports betting services to Russian residents anywhere in the country.

The only licensed online sports betting operators are the Russian lottery company, Trade House Stoloto and Liga Stavok . Even the sites of domestic sports books were taken down by the authorities earlier this year.

Lottery in Russia

Online lottery – Russia: legal, state monopoly

Prior to 2014, many private lottery operations existed in Russia. However, from July 1, 2014 the government closed down all lottery schemes, apart form the state lottery conducted by the company Trade House Stoloto. They offer various types of lottery games and scratch cards. Many of these are also available online.

Foreign online lotteries are illegal in Russia. Many of such sites are also blocked by ISPs. It is illegal for Russian residents to participate in foreign online lottery draws. Technically, they can face fines, if caught. However, the chances of an individual player being prosecuted are almost none.

The following websites let people from Russia purchase lottery tickets online:

Coming soon!

Bitcoin gambling in Russia

Bitcoin gambling – Russia: illegal, players are not prosecuted

Russia is not a Bitcoin friendly country by any standards. In its efforts to restrict the use of the cryptocurrency in the country, in January 2015 the government introduced an ISP ban on all Bitcoin related websites. Even though the decision was overturned by an appellant court, the legal status of Bitcoin is not resolved.

In October this year, Alexey Moiseev the deputy Finance Minister of Russia stated that the country has made plans to penalise the conversion of crypto currencies into the Ruble by up to 4 years in prison*.

For now, Bitcoin casinos and other Bitcoin gambling websites are just as illegal as all other online gambling operations. Many of such site are, in fact blocked by Russian ISPs. Players face minor financial penalties if caught gambling online – in Bitcoins or other currencies. However, these laws would be very difficult to enforce on the level of an individual player and so far there have been no reports of players being prosecuted.

If you have questions or any feedback don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. Please let me know in the comments section if you think we might have gotten something wrong or if you have additional information, clarification about the legal status of online gambling in this country.